Neighborhoods (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Richfield: apartments, crime rates, houses)

[TarynC]

My husband and I are considering moving to Minneapolis in Jan of 2010. We look at houses and apartments online and they tell which neighborhood they're in, but I have no ideas about the neighborhoods.
Which areas have more ethnic diversity? Is there a 'gay' neighborhood (like San Diego's Hillcrest)? Is there a 'ghetto' neighborhood? Be as biased as you like since I've been on both sides of the bias and can weed it out.

Thanks!

[uptown_urbanist]

Some neighborhoods I'm most familiar with:

Uptown - a somewhat trendy neighborhood southwest of downtown. It's located by Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun, with the core commercial district centered around Hennepin and Lake. Lots of restaurants and bars, plenty of gay people (although there is no single "gay" neighborhood), safe, well-served by public transit, walkable. Sub-neighborhoods ("Uptown" is not an official designation - you'll discover that Mpls has formal, city-recognized neighborhood names in addition to more vernacular names like "Uptown" that you might not find on the maps) include CARAG, the Wedge, East Isles, and ECCO. The Wedge is probably the most diverse.

Lyn-Lake - some consider this part of Uptown. It's the area centered around the intersection of Lake and Lyndale. Farther away from the lakes, but overall a more diverse neighborhood, especially on the east side of Lyndale. Also lots of gay people. (also, I remember reading somewhere that CARAG - one of the neighborhoods that straddles Lyn-Lake and Uptown - had one of the highest percentages of gay parent-headed households in the country)

Whittier - east of Lyndale, not too far from Uptown or downtown, part of Nicollet Avenue is called "Eat Street" and is filled with lots of restaurants and markets representing cultures from around the world. Whittier is also home to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. There's more crime than in Uptown, but it's ethnically more diverse and has cheaper apartments/houses.

Linden Hills: SW Minneapolis, near Lake Calhoun and right on the shores of Lake Harriet. Quieter neighborhood (but not boring), very "green," nice small-town like business district. Very safe, but pricey. Not as ethnically diverse.

There are also some very interesting, vibrant, exciting urban neighborhoods on the other side of downtown; Marcy-Holmes is over by the University of Minnesota, and while I'm not sure where the official boundaries are it also rubs shoulders with St. Anthony Main/North East (not sure of my exact terminology, but it's the area on the non-downtown side of the Stone Arch Bridge). Marcy-Holmes is great; right on the river, near the University of Minnesota and downtown, interesting restaurants, safe, still somewhat affordable.

There are also interesting neighborhoods up and down Lake Street in South Minneapolis; most are pretty ethnically diverse, and definitely offer some of the best deals in town. Some areas have higher crime rates, although depending on your comfort level they're still worth considering.

I don't know the north side neighborhoods, but I know there are some regulars here who can fill you in on that front.

What kind of neighborhood are you looking for?

[TarynC]

Wow, thanks! A lot of great info. My husband and I are conservative, but we also really enjoy variety. For instance, right now we live in Japan, we've also lived in San Diego together, and separately we've lived in the country of Portland (OR), Tulsa (OK), Chula Vista (CA), Georgia, etc. We enjoy ethnic food, theater, sports, and cultural diversity. I plan on attending University while I'm there, also.

But if we're buy a house, chances are we're going to retire there and I want our kids living somewhere that will support our beliefs.

So basically, this is what I want in our neighborhood:
Safety, proximity to major universities, proximity to theatre/nightlife, diversity (or proximity to diversity), business district.

Does that narrow it down at all for Minneapolis?

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Here's a good website for finding information about each individual neighborhood, just be aware that the numerical data is from the 2000 census and things have changed a little since then:
Minneapolis Neighborhood Profiles

There aren't any official "gay neighborhoods" in Minneapolis. Loring Park is known for its gay population but there are plenty of heterosexuals living there and there are gays scattered pretty much everywhere in the city. You'll be able to see which neighborhoods are diverse from looking at the profiles, I live in Corcoran and honestly I couldn't even tell you which race is more prevalent. On the street I live it is equally white, black and latino.

There is alot of inequality in Minneapolis when it comes to diversity. The white population is comparatively much more wealthy than other races, which means that the diverse neighborhoods are also statistically poorer. This doesn't neccessarily mean that crime will be higher in those neighborhoods but alot of times it will, and it will speak for the amount of investment that goes into the housing stock. I love living in my diverse neighborhood, but it would be a lie if I was to tell you that my neighborhood looked as nice as Linden Hills, Kenwood and Loring Hill, which are almost 100% white neighborhoods and comparatively much more wealthy.

Since you mentioned safety as a concern, you may also want to review Minneapolis crime maps and data:
Crime Statistics and Reports

When you say conservative are you describing your lifestyle or your political views? If you're politically conservative you're going to find a difficult time finding a neighborhood with similar views. Minneapolis is very liberal, I would say most of south Minneapolis is extremely liberal. I tend to lean left and I find alot of people's views around here over the top. Try reading an issue of "Southside Pride" and you'll catch my drift.

[TarynC]

My husband and I are politically conservative, in the traditional, isolationist, small federal government kind of way. But considering we lived in Portland, we're pretty used to being alone in our views. We'll only be in Minneapolis for three years, so I think we can put up with pretty much anything, if we have to.

Thanks for the link! Totally helpful.

How 'bout the best club district? I love to salsa/bachata (latin dancing), and hiphop, but hubby and I do best at techno and rock clubs together. Where can I find all these?

[Cruz Azul Guy]

There are about 6 places to dance latin in the Twin Cities I can think of off the top of my head. First Avenue does it Thursday nights in downtown Minneapolis, there are two places in NE/Dinkytown area, Conga Latin Bistro and Loring Pasta Bar. There is a chinese restaurant in Richfield that has it called Junbo and there are a couple in St. Paul but I can't remember the names off the top of my head.

The area where you'll find the most clubs in general is downtown with the largest concentration near the Target Center and going towards the river.

[TarynC]

Thanks for all your help! Turns out we're not moving there after all. Thanks!

[MARY MALSAM]

Check out the bryn Mawr neighborhood. Gay friendly, socially active/involved close to the city's largest park, five minutes to downtown, on a bus line. Very nice.